First county buys voting machines under new state standards

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Susquehanna County is the first Pennsylvania county to buy a voting system under new security standards by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration.

State and county officials said Thursday the new optical scan system will be in use for the Nov. 6 general election.

Wolf earlier this year ordered counties to replace their electronic voting systems with machines that leave a paper trail as a safeguard against hacking.

Counties have warned that the price tag is a major problem. But Wolf’s administration says many other counties appear likely to implement new systems in 2019, while some may wait until the 2020 primary.

Wolf’s order followed last year’s disclosure by the federal government that election systems in at least 21 states, including Pennsylvania, were targeted by hackers before the 2016 presidential election.